Faces of Selwyn

When it comes to food, Farin Nisa has a bit of a sweet tooth. So it was only fitting that she chose a pebbled shape sweet known as peda, as her favourite recipe to share.

As she puts the plate of peda on the table, her son Aydin swoops in and grabs some.

Before not long, the plate is empty with all the peda gone!

Farin moved to Auckland from Fiji with her family when she was 10 years old. Farin and her husband decided to make the move to Christchurch in 2018, locating to Faringdon.

It’s a wet, winter’s day in the Philippines. Agnes Guda, aged 10 is with her Uncle in the kitchen, learning how to cut eggplant, okra, onion, radish, taro and tomatoes for the Pork Sinigang they are making. Today, Agnes no longer lives in the Philippines, but she still cooks her favourite meal Pork Sinigang, a healthy soup like dish, from her Rolleston kitchen and enjoys it, especially on a cold winter’s day.

When he’s not cooking pizza and pasta at his Italian restaurant in Tai Tapu, Deep Kumar is in his home kitchen in Rolleston, cooking an Indian curry for him and his wife, Lucy.

Originally from India, Deep travelled to Italy in his teens and grew curious about cooking Italian cuisine through the knowledge of locals he met in Tuscany, Sicily and Naples.

He then moved to New Zealand in 2011.

Listen to Mayor of Selwyn, Sam Broughton tell you about this year’s CultureFest events and our upcoming Faces of Selwyn podcast starting Monday 12 September

Arriving in Lincoln at the age of seven from Germany, Maria talks about what it was like growing up in rural Selwyn and being involved in the Selwyn community through the Selwyn Youth Council, Environment Canterbury and receiving Lincoln Rotary’s Totara Award. Born in Mexico, where the primary religion is Catholicism, Maria also opens up about their experience with gender identity and sexuality.

New to Rolleston, Israeli cook and artist Rita Yosef talks about how excited she is to get involved in the Selwyn community, running art and cooking classes. She already loves the quiet rural feel of Selwyn and says she is surrounded by a lovely neighborhood, which makes her feel safe and at home.

Selwyn Youth Councillor Issy Kennedy and Hayley Tate talk to high school student Anaya Cole about living in Selwyn, her whakapapa and representing New Zealand in volleyball tournaments overseas. She reveals how playing volleyball has brought her closer to her Māori culture. She also shares her passion for fashion and sustainability.

Ritodhi Chakraborty and Aline Carrara share their insights on politics, life as an immigrant, their travels around the world and moving to Selwyn with their son Theo, after Ritodhi accepted a job at Lincoln University. They tell stories of their research in the Himalayas and the Amazon, and how they are enjoying a quieter and safer lifestyle in Selwyn.

Greeting us in Hindi, Monika Rastogi and her son Rayaan join us on the podcast. Monika shares her passion for community groups and educating adults and children of multiple ethnicities about her interests in cooking, gardening and sustainability, which connects her to her North Indian culture.

Soon-Lee Spicer, a lawyer turned artist who grew up between Malaysia and New Zealand and Asako Ridgen, a returning exchange student and artist from Japan come together to share how they met through creating the Selwyn Artists Collective and how their art connects them to Selwyn, Malaysia and Japan. Find out more about Soon-Lee at soonleeartist.com and Asako on Facebook as Asako Ridgen Art and Instagram @asakoridgen_art.